The high court has ordered that the imminent deportation to Sri Lanka of a number of Tamils be halted amid claims they may be tortured on their return.

Three solicitors' firms have confirmed to the Guardian that a number of their clients had been given last-minute reprieves and would no longer be flown out of the country on a specially chartered UK Border Agency (UKBA) flight that was expected to be leave on Tuesday afternoon. It is understood that a further 10 to 12 firms have also lodged last-minute appeals on behalf of their clients.

Toufique Hossain from Duncan Lewis solicitors said he had received
orders from the court on Monday night for three of his clients, two of
whom had appealed against the deportation on grounds that they would
face torture on their return to Colombo."We have at
least two examples of clients who have independent evidence of torture
and have significant mental health problems. We have successfully
obtained injunctions in relation to at least three clients stopping
their removal on the charter flight scheduled for the 23 October," he
said."It is extremely concerning that clients who
remain in immigration detention, who have a history of torture and/or
mental illness and can also show a history of perceived or actual
membership to the LTTE [Tamil Tigers] seem to be routinely put on
charter flights," Hossain said.Kulasegaram
Geetharthanan from Jein solicitors said one of his clients was awarded
interim relief on Monday night on the same grounds.In
one court fax sent in response to arguments of possible torture upon
return to Sri Lanka, judge Sir Keith Lindblom wrote: "Though I find it
hard to think that in the course of the claimant's immigration history
his case has not been fairly and thoroughly considered, his grounds
raise matters that call for the defendant's [Home Office] response. I am
therefore prepared to grant interim relief."Geetharthanan
added that the Home Office had already backed down from removing two of
his clients on the UKBA flight when he threatened to lodge those case
files with the court.A third solicitor, Anoja
Muthusamy, told the Guardian that the Home office had tried to deport
her client even though it was made aware last week she has an
outstanding immigration appeal currently working its way through the
courts.She said the court had also stopped the
deportation just hours before the Tuesday flight. "They [the Home
Office] knew there was an outstanding appeal … so they've wasted time
and my clients money," Muthusamy said.It is not known
how many injunction orders the court issued before Tuesday's flight. The
flight is understood to be carrying around 60 passengers to Sri Lanka.Shortly
before a similar deportation flight in September, the high court
accepted the risk of torture to those being removed and halted
deportations in a last-minute injunction.A UKBA
spokesperson said it did not comment on individual cases or on removal
flights before departure, but added: "The UK has a proud record of
offering sanctuary to those who need it, but people who do not have a
genuine need for our protection must return to their home country."We
only undertake returns to Sri Lanka when we are satisfied that the
individual has no international protection needs. The European court of
human rights has ruled that not all Tamil asylum seekers require
protection."A House of Commons foreign affairs
committee report published last week condemned the Home Office's lack of
urgency and transparency on the issue."We find it
unsatisfactory that the government has not been more forthcoming to
parliament about its efforts – in general and in specific cases – to
assess the level of risk to the safety of those who are removed from the
UK," the committee said.The report published on
Thursday added that "the routine air of the [Foreign Office's] initial
responses … has not given us particular confidence that the FCO is being
as energetic as it might in impressing upon the UK Border Agency the
degree of risk."On Monday, Keith Best, chief of
Freedom from Torture, which has been campaigning against the removal
flights, said: "It is not surprising that ministers squirm when asked to
attest to the safety of the UK's removals policy for Sri Lanka because
evidence of a major risk miscalculation is stacking up."We
are highly concerned that Tamils returning even voluntarily from the UK
with any real or perceived LTTE [Tamil Tiger] links are at real risk
because more than 20 have been referred to us after escaping back with
obvious signs of torture."

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